I have two sengled zigbee smartbulbs with two lamps in our bedroom. Any suggestions for buttons to put on the nightstand to turn off one or both lamps without shouting at alexa to do it?
It's not cheap to start using them (have to get a Lutron hub) but the $14 Lutron Pico remotes are amazing. Small, easy to setup/use, incredibly flexible. But...to use them you need a Lutron hub that costs about $100.
Since I started using them I can't imagine using other button solutions. My wife and I each have one next to our beds and can:
- Turn both ours and each others' bedside light on/off
- Turn fan on/off, and fan light
- Turn lights outside slider in our room on/off
- Turn on all oustide lights (for if we hear a noise outside that we want to investigate/scare away)
- Turn whole house fan on/off
Options are endless - you have five buttons and both hold and press actions. This is the one and only smart home device that my wife actually loves, and asked me to get more. (My family is very button-happy for some reason.) 
If you are sure you only want to control two lamps on/off, on the more fiscally frugal side the SmartThings gen2 buttons are much better than the originals (which isn't saying that much) and you can find them for around $20. SAMSUNG SmartThings GP-U999SJVLEAA.
There is the Hank Z-Wave Plus Four Button Scene Controller HKZW-SCN04 for about $30 that has (obviously) 4 buttons and evidently is supported on Hubitat. I haven't used it.
But if you think your button use may grow over time, and you want 99% to 100% reliability and great flexibility, IMHO the Lutron Picos are worth the investment in the Lutron hub.
3 Likes
Everyone seems to love Lutron here. Not against it, but definitely a higher price point.
I came from ST, i'm trying to stay away from their stuff.
This bridge is what is needed?
https://www.amazon.com/Lutron-Caseta-Wireless-Bridge-L-BDG2-WH/dp/B00XPW67ZM/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=lutron+hub&qid=1602603336&sr=8-5
When you're ready to set up controls for your buttons, the two are really good choices:
ABC Button Controller: Wonderful app w/lots of options for buttons and easy to use.
Another great button app, has a few features added to what ABC can do.
Unfortunately no, you need the "pro" version which is more expensive. Best pricing I see now is on eBay...
Much more expensive on Amazon, currently:
https://www.amazon.com/Lutron-Caseta-L-BDGPRO2-WH-SmartBridge-Programmed/dp/B00Z8AXQCQ/ref=sr_1_5?crid=3239Y8YC4VMFL&dchild=1&keywords=lutron+smart+bridge+pro&qid=1602603850&sprefix=lutron+smart+bridge+pro%2Caps%2C227&sr=8-5
Others may chime in w/a better source for these...
Yes, that was how I felt - Wow, that's a lot of money to use a button. But they really are a great, really well designed "never fail" option.
I use the Samsung, Hue and Xiaomi buttons. The Xiaomi button has the largest form factor. A few people have issues, I haven't since adding repeaters. Both the Samsung and Hue are magnetic. The Samsung also provides temp. I don't think Hue does, not sure. The Xiaomi are the cheapest(or they were). I think the Samsung buttons go for about $15. There is also the Xiaomi cube which I like as does the wife. That's what's on her N/S. Plus you can control up to 42 things I believe. I control 7 with hers. There are custom drivers for the Xiaomi stuff. Actually, I think the Xiaomi stuff may be under Aqara now, not sure.
Interesting. I'll look more into this, thanks. Sounds like i have to think about more opportunities in using this than just turning off lamps.
Any idea if integration can occur into the Ring Alarm system with buttons? Wife would prefer not shouting at speakers or messing with apps on a phone. I know the Ring integration app here went dark...
I think that's right - I see Xiaomi devices listed as Xiaomi/Aqara now.
Sorry, I know nothing of Ring. The WAF was surprisingly high with the cube. I originally bought it as a novelty, but I have 3 in use daily now. They also come in different colors if that interests you or her. Hers controls lights in and out of the b/r, vanity setup and fans. You can use it to control anything in your system. The Samsung button has 3 inputs, single press, double press and hold. I use one on my side that controls 3 different lights. Actually, hold turns off everything outside the bedroom.
Plenty of sales on that now too.
I just noticed that myself. If you do Amazon Prime, they have alot of the Aqara stuff on sale for Prime Day which ends tomorrow. I might pick up a few things myself.
I use the smarthings buttons for the exact same thing. One tap turns on the bedside lamp of the button that was pressed. Two taps turns on all of the lights in the bedroom. For my side, press and hold turns on the deck lamp and the lamp at the bottom of the stairs so I can let the dogs out at night. My bedside lamps have a flat metal base and the buttons attach magnetically. I have a good Zigbee mesh and the batteries last a fairly long time (at least 8 months). They are also very cheap and have never not worked when pressed (after I got my mesh worked out).
I ended up getting the hub, and two cubes delivered today. Into the aqara hole I've jumped. Should have researched it a bit more to understand how it connect, but I'll figure it out. (I hope....)
thes work great are cheap .. i even have some of the older minimotes..
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00R5NJDE4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Interesting, I hadn't seen that Minimote clone. I really like my Minimotes when I was using them, except for their battery life. Replaced them all w/Picos and the family (and I) are happier.
they are rechargeable batteries what is the issue with that .. they seem to last weeks between charges?
Yeah, I recharged mine via USB of course...the issue was the frequency of needing recharging, and lack of any notice when they needed recharging. I had about 8 of them around the house (as I've said many times here, family LOVES buttons 
) and when they decided to die it was always my fault that "nothing works!" and there would be down-time while I was charging the Minimote back up. I could have had a charging schedule to help this a little but of course didn't.
The Picos have battery life that is calculated in years rather than weeks or months. Just much easier to manage.
1 Like
i like the size and 4 buttons. plus the few times i toasted them by accidentially leaving them on the cover of the hot tub, or on the deck railing and rain or snow fffd it up,
after turning of the outdoor lights when going in the tub.. i have bright led floods that turn on when the slider or deck door opens at night and turn off 3 minutes later, but they butt ■■■ bright in your eyes when your in the hottub.. luckly they are much cheaper than the picos so not a huge deal..
New system now is a robe i go out in with a pocket i leave the remote in.
an outdoor waterproof alexa would be nice but i dont really trust anything plugged in outdoors in the nh winter.. i do have a clear outlet cover now with an aeon 7 repeater plugged in though and another in the front yard.
1 Like
No doubt, but if you have any questions, just ask. There's always someone around to help.
